Introducing: Lightning Cult

A self-proclaimed 'veteran psych-folk dude', most would forgive us for expecting some kind of overdone, Devendra Banhart/Anton Newcombe hybrid from independent artist Lightning Cult. But actually what omits from this one time Colorado, now New Mexico-based musician is criminally underground.

How so? It really deserves a bigger audience. The project of singer-songwriter Mike Marchant; he's been making music under one alias or another for at least the past 10 years. We say 'at least' because it's hard to really know how, when or why Marchant began making music. There are whisperings on the internet, leading to exposure on The AV Club and a hell of a lot of local support. However, just as much time is dedicated to Marchant's battle with cancer cerca 2013 as it is his jaw-dropping ability to create Elephant Six-style melodies, all on his lonesome. DrunkenWerewolf hopes to at least address the imbalance with this article.

Lightning Cult is essential listening. Documenting his wears with August's EP1: Burner, Marchant stuffs innovative guitar lines into a rich indie pop mould, complemented by excellent self-production and well-rounded melodies. He doesn't lose sight of his psych-folk title, incorporating a short/long dynamic into his tracklisting, but the sonic exploration is too bold and punctuated to belong to that genre alone.

Don't let this music pass you by. Check out "Five Beats" below and find out more on Bandcamp.